McHale embraces task of elevating Howard’s game

Now, the brilliant former Celtics big man will have the opportunity to mold a player he considers one of the dominant centers in the NBA.

The 6-11 Howard signed a four-year deal Saturday morning to officially join McHale’s Rockets. That gives the Rockets an edge against almost every other team in the NBA, but only, McHale said, if he fulfills his responsibility.

“My job is to put him into positions to succeed. That should be easy,” McHale said. “I told him if he’s not dominating at both ends of the floor in the paint, I’m not doing a good enough job getting him to play to his potential.”

Though Howard, 27, played in 76 of 82 regular-season games with the Lakers last year, he is coming off one of his most frustrating seasons. He suffered through back and shoulder injuries while Los Angeles struggled and barely made the playoffs.

Howard had his lowest rebounding average since 2007 and his lowest scoring average since 2006.

A new beginning

The 2012-13 season didn’t go well for the Lakers. Coach Mike Brown was fired after five games. Two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash missed the first seven weeks with an injury. Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles tendon with two games left in the regular season and missed the playoffs.

Howard described his most recent campaign as “very, very tough” and said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to start fresh in Houston. McHale said that’s a big reason he expects Howard to return to form when he puts on the Rockets uniform.

“You have to play free of mind,” McHale said. “When you have a lot of stuff going on it’s hard to play. He’s at a great age where he has his athleticism and a lot of the youthful exuberance.

Yet he has 10 years under his belt.”

Even the best players need to be healthy to be effective. McHale said the Rockets got good reports about Howard’s shoulder and back, and that he will be fine when they begin working together Monday.

Nothing new in the bag

He said there are no specific moves he hopes to teach Howard. Rather, he wants him to use his quickness more because his combination of quickness and strength can be unstoppable.

“We need to get him back to being quick with the ball, being decisive and attacking,” McHale said. “He can change direction. He can elevate. When he’s in attack mode he’s way better than when he’s just plodding.”

If everything goes according to plan, the Rockets should be a balanced team that can beat opponents in a variety of ways. They have guard James Harden, who can get to the basket with the best, and an array of outside shooters like Chandler Parsons who will keep perimeter defenders from helping on Howard in the low post.

With scoring threats all around the court, Howard could find more room than ever to operate. If that’s the case, he said he’s looking forward to returning to his form as the most dominating big man in the NBA.

“That’s what I’ve always expected out of myself,” Howard said. “Before I got injured that’s what I did every night. I dominated the paint at both ends of the floor. The biggest thing is going out there, having fun and dominating.”